The search for answers in the death of Miriam Carey

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Many are struggling to understand what could have led Miriam Carey, a 34 year old dental hygienist from Stanford, Connecticut to that fateful confrontation with police near the US capitol where she died in a hail of bullets with her infant daughter in the back seat.

In our search for answers, theGrio assembled a timeline of events in hopes that the circumstances leading up to Carey’s death might yield some insight.

• Family members of Miriam Cary say she had fallen down a flight of stairs and injured her spine in January 2012
• She took a 3 to 4 week leave of absence.
• She had an unplanned pregnancy about a month after the fall.
• Carey’s mother, Idella Carey told news reporters that her daughter suffered from depression that had gotten so severe that she had to be hospitalized. The mother stressed however, that she had no history of violence.
• Those close to Miriam Carey  said she was diagnosed with psychosis, and was on anti-depressants. It was disclosed that she was recently off her medications and that her condition had been deteriorating in the past 10 months.
• A source involved in the investigation said Carey’s boyfriend contacted police in December 2012 saying he feared for the child’s safety. Police say he reportedly told police Carey was acting delusional, claiming President Obama had placed Stamford on lock down and had her house under electronic surveillance.
• Interviews confirm that Miriam was in Connecticut Wednesday, the day before the shooting.
• Carey is a 2007 graduate of  Brooklyn College and became a licensed dental hygienist in 2009 . Records show however, that the license was set to expire on the same day of the shooting incident.
• Carey worked as a dental hygienist in an office in Hamden, CT, but was reportedly fired in August 2012.
• Sometime on Thursday, Carey drove her car with her close to 18 month-old daughter in the back seat to Washington where she had a confrontation with Capitol police.
• At 2:12pm ET the Secret Service reported a black Infinity sedan struck temporary security fencing and a Uniformed Division officer at an outer perimeter check point of the White House.
  Police surrounded the vehicle but there were no shots fired at that location.
• Carey fled east on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, pursued by Uniformed Secret Service officers.There were multiple locations along the chase route, where shots were fired. They were First Street and Maryland Avenue SW along with First Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.
• Carey was struck by an undisclosed number of bullets and it was discovered that her 18-month old daughter was in the back seat. The child was “not seriously injured” said Capitol Police, and was taken to a local hospital for observation.
• A priority call for shots fired went out and the United States Capitol Police ordered a “shelter in place”
• The fleeing vehicle crashed in the 100 block of Maryland Avenue, N.E.
• One of Miriam’s sisters said the family will claim temporary custody of the child.
• Carey’s Stanford CT apartment was identified and search warrant executed after 10:30pm Thursday
• A 23-year veteran of the Capitol Hill police service who was injured was treated and released at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.